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Thursday, October 3, 2013

Online Illegal Drug Marketplace Shut Down

The online illegal drug selling marketplace has finally been shut down by authorities after two years of operation and nearly $60 million in sales. Known as the Silk Road, it is an online market that sold illegal drugs including: heroin, cocaine, opioid pills, Ecstasy and LSD. The Silk Road also allowed users to sell forged documents and untaxed cigarettes, as well.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested the operator in San Francisco on narcotics and money-laundering charges, according to The New York Times.

The Silk Road was able to operate as long as it did due to encryption software called Tor, where users computer IP addresses were shielded, giving users the ability to make purchases anonymously.

Silk Road vendors and customers did not use credit cards, using what’s known as “Bitcoins,” a digital currency sold through online currency exchange services. Bitcoins gave people an added level of anonymity that hindered the authorities from making arrests.

The Silk Road’s creator, Ross Ulbricht, 29, has been accused of asking a man to kill a Silk Road vendor for threatening to expose the identities of people who used the site, according to the article. Ulbricht is also accused of soliciting an undercover FBI agent to kill a former employee that he was concerned would become a government witness.